The Big Bad Wolf
by CookieAisu
Summary: In which Zero is an empath and he and Ichiru escape the village together after it's attacked. Kaname just "happens" to find them and tells them of a safe place to stay, but will they trust him? Requested by Amaya Ishimoto Written by WookieCookie's Cookie


**Hello everyone! You might know me; I'm Cookie from the WookieCookie duo. A few things happened, school being one of them. It's been a few months, but I'm still here! I'm alive! The reason why I'm not updating on WookieCookie's account is the fact that I lost all my log in information after I got a new computer. I don't remember it at all *cries* And Wookie doesn't come onto MSN anymore! I hope you'll all forgive me, this is Amaya Ishimoto's request from...last year. I feel really bad for taking this long but it took me _so_long to get a result that was actually good.**

**Enjoy!**

**Warning: OOC, Slight AU **

**xox**

**The Big Bad Wolf **

Zero panted, his eyes drooping, his legs barely making it out of the snow. The snow fell slowly and sometimes it seemed like they just hovered there in the sky –like a still picture. Yet, the snow on the ground piled up all the way past his ankles. It was nearing his knees; he wasn't sure at this point if he could walk any farther. But at the same time, he felt a feeling of strength and stamina that confused him, because it certainly wasn't his.

The silverette child struggled to keep his eyes open as they focused on the figure in front of him, "Ichiru- wah!" He yelped as he fell face first into the cold soft snow. Zero placed his tiny hands on the snow to try and push himself up, but it was futile and they fell through the powdery snow, making him yelp again.

"Oh Zero," he heard his twin brother 'tsk' in amusement and the shuffling of his footsteps in the snow. Zero looked up to see a face that looked exactly like his and his face flushed from embarrassment and the cold.

"You're so clumsy sometimes," Ichiru grunted as he pulled his brother out of the snow. Once they brushed the snow off of Zero's clothes and hair, Ichiru took his brother's hand and started walking again.

"Ichiru," Zero began softly; "Can we rest?"

"We can't rest here!" His twin exclaimed, "What if a wolf finds us or worse- a vampire?"

The silverette stopped in his tracks, forcing his brother to stop, and he looked up with sad lilac eyes, "But…I don't mind that…because then we'd be able to see mama and papa again."

Ichiru's shoulders slumped and he looked at Zero with equally sad eyes, "Zero…"

"And-!" Zero let his voice rise a little bit before going back to his softer tone, "And I'm really tired…my legs hurt."

His sibling smiled and he squeezed Zero's hand comfortingly, "Well why didn't you say so? Let's go rest over there."

Zero looked over to where his brother was pointing; it was a fairly large tree that had a trunk that caved in; it would provide them with at least a little bit of shelter. The silverette nodded and they began walking over. Zero inevitably tripped several times over and Ichiru had to laugh every time it happened, making his brother puff his cheeks in annoyance.

"Be quiet Ichiru…" Zero huffed as he dusted the snow off. They were just a few more steps until they would be at the tree.

"Sorry," Ichiru apologized, though he didn't really sound sorry at all; his grin clearly proved that. "Come on, let's hurry so we can go to sleep."

Zero nodded and smiled too, the feeling of wanting to laugh overthrowing his annoyance. "Yeah," he replied, but suddenly he felt a feeling of dread, warning, and the most prominent: hunger. His expression fell in seconds and before Ichiru could ask what was wrong, howls of wolves resonated through the winter air.

Ichiru quickly grabbed Zero's hand and raced to the tree, the kicks of their feet making the powdery snow fly everywhere; he picked Zero up so that he could climb into the hole. "Hurry! Zero!"

Zero dug his fingers into the bark, trying helplessly to pull himself up into the hole. "I'm trying Ichiru! I'm trying!"

"Try harder!" Ichiru begged and put his hands on Zero's lower back, pushing him into the tree. As soon as Zero was in safely, Ichiru quickly scrambled up the tree with the skills of a squirrel and climbed into the hole, pressing Zero against the wall protectively. They both let out soundless screams as the wolves poked their jaws into the hole, trying to get at them. Zero held onto Ichiru's coat tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. The twins pressed their bodies into the walls even more, praying that they would give up and go away.

Suddenly, and although they were relieved, it was too strange that the wolves had disappeared. They were no longer poking their jaws into the tree trunk, trying to get their teeth on a tasty meal. A few moments later they heard the wolves yelping in pain and howling. The paws of the beasts were beating a lot more heavily against the powdery snow.

"What…" Zero blinked; "What happened Ichiru?"

"I don't know…" His twin replied, blinking in the same manner.

They poked their tiny heads out curiously, but also cautiously and hesitantly, knowing that there could be something else out there that might want them for dinner- or dessert. Zero blinked when he saw a male, possibly a teenager, standing over a dead wolf. He watched curiously as the man nudged the wolf with his boot to make sure it truly was dead. The silverette's eyes widened when the man turned to face them.

"Are you two okay?"

Zero wrapped his arms around his brother's arm, looking at the man cautiously. He knew that Ichiru was looking at the man the same way too. This man was a vampire and a strong one at that.

The man blinked slowly and graced them with a small smile, though it was not at all very comforting; it probably wasn't meant to be comforting either. "Do you know what I am?"

"A vampire," Zero and Ichiru replied, distrust evident in their tone of voice.

"Very good," the vampire replied, whether he was praising their answer, their distrust towards him, or both, Zero was uncertain. "I have saved your life but whether you choose to trust me or not is your choice. I would suggest that you follow me; it's not safe for children with no way to defend themselves to travel alone here;" and with that said, the man turned, walking away.

Zero stared after the man, watching as their chance of protection and perhaps a long life grew smaller and smaller. He couldn't trust any vampire, especially this one; this vampire, the way he carried himself, and his aura, it told him that he was a pureblood. The same sort of pureblood that massacred everyone he knew. He wouldn't trust another vampire again; he couldn't and Ichiru couldn't either.

He bit his lips as an urging feeling in his gut told him that all that the vampire said was true, that he wanted to protect them. Zero shook his head, frustrated, and leaned against his brother.

"Zero?" Ichiru asked worriedly, "Is something wrong?"

"No…" Zero told him, mentally smacking himself for wondering if they should have followed the pureblood after all, "I'm just really tired…"

Ichiru smiled, "Yeah, I'm tired too."

**xox**

**Cheshire Cat**

They were walking again; the sky was still fairly dark with a few hints of light. The twins didn't know how long they slept or if they only slept for a few hours, but they felt well rested, so they decided to carry on. It was terribly silent –save for the crunching of the snow beneath their feet- and they struggled to keep as silent as their surroundings; they didn't want to attract unwanted attention.

Zero looked up at the sky as they continued walking; there wasn't a cloud up there, making the sky seem more vast and large. It made him feel incredibly small and lonely. He blinked when he felt a squeeze to his hand and looked at his brother, who was looking at him with a worried expression.

"Are you okay?" Ichiru asked him for probably the millionth time; "Are you hungry?"

Zero shook his head, "No; I don't think we'd be able to find anything out here anyways."

Ichiru sighed and looked at the area surrounding them. There was no vegetation and most of the animals had already gone into hibernation. The forest was completely void of life during this time of year; and for their sakes, Ichiru hoped that they'd come across a village soon- or another traveler.

"Don't worry Ichiru," Zero reassured, "We've come a long way; I'm sure we'll come across civilization soon."

Ichiru smiled and the siblings continued walking through the forest that seemed to have no end. They were making good progress; at least, they thought they were. They took minimum breaks and to their little legs, they seemed to be walking far. They had no way to tell the time though; the sun didn't rise until much later. The forest itself was disorienting, most of the trees looked the same.

"Too bad we didn't save the knives from the vampire huh?" Ichiru would joke as they walked, and Zero shook his head, smiling at his brother's attempts to lift the atmosphere.

The temperature suddenly dropped later in the day; the sun was right above them, but even the sun's powerful rays couldn't reach the earth to warm it up. Zero and Ichiru covered half of their face with their scarves so that their nose wouldn't be exposed to the cold air. They rubbed their hands and arms constantly to try and keep themselves warm, but it didn't do them much good.

"Ichiru, we should stop. It's getting too cold."

Ichiru nodded in agreement and they both cuddled near the closest tree, the roots of it curling around them, somehow giving off the feeling of protection. They didn't fall asleep as the temperature dropped even lower, remembering the stories their father told them of people that froze to death in the winter. The horror stories that they remembered from their father kept them wide awake, and for once they were thankful that their father had told them those stories; at the time, they absolutely detested them.

"Remember the story about…the man who froze to death…when he was walking through the forest?" Ichiru asked.

Zero nodded, "The one that was going around in circles, but he didn't know it?"

"Yeah that one." Ichiru wrapped his arms around his knees, "The one that thought he was getting somewhere but he actually wasn't…"

"What about it?"

"You don't think…we're walking around in circles do you?"

Zero gulped and fear, much more fear than he should have had from that question, bubbled up inside of him. "I'm sure we're not…I mean…we didn't bump into that funny looking rock again, or that small frozen stream."

"Yeah," Ichiru smiled, although it was a very unsure smile, "You're right."

They stayed a little while longer in each other's arms, both of them still thinking of the possibility that they'd never get anywhere and that they'd freeze before they found civilization. And then Zero started crying. Ichiru gently rubbed circles up and down his brother's back, though he didn't ask him what was wrong. His brother was overly sensitive about certain things and he'd often burst out crying, feel sick, or be really angry.

Soon, Zero relaxed, his crying being reduced to hiccups; "Are you okay now?"

"Mmhm," Zero sniffled and wiped his nose with his scarf. "Should we keep walking?"

"Yeah."

Ichiru dusted himself off before helping Zero up and they both continued on their journey, believing that they would find someone, though that little whisper that they wouldn't, lingered at the back of their minds.

Inevitably, after a few minutes of walking, they had run into vampires. Zero and Ichiru were actually wondering when they would bump into more of the blood sucking monsters. They were surprised that they didn't bump into any sooner. The pureblood didn't count; that encounter was strange and although they would be reluctant to admit it, the pureblood didn't seem to want to suck their blood and kill them.

These vampires however, were definitely looking for a nice, easy meal. Defenseless children seemed to be the best recommendation for the night.

Zero's eyes widened as one vampire got a hold of Ichiru, though he couldn't make it in time as another started charging at him. The child quickly ducked between the vampire's legs and kicked him in the knee before running towards Ichiru and the other vampire.

"ICHIRU!" Zero screamed as the vampire's fangs made their way towards his brother's neck. He gasped when he felt arms grab him and hot breath down his neck and shut his eyes tightly. He hoped that death wasn't as painful or as scary as many people thought; he hoped that he would be able to see his parents soon.

But then, out of the blue, as soon as he felt sharp fangs graze his skin, blood-curdling screams filled the air, followed by three thuds.

"Ow!"

Zero opened his eyes to see the vampires in a pool of blood and Ichiru, safe. He was on the snow, on his back, holding his head in only slight pain.

"Ow, ow, ow…"

The silverette sweatdropped and made his way over to Ichiru, helping him up, looking to see if he had any injuries. He felt his brother's head, checking for lumps or anything else of the sort before checking Ichiru's neck, "That vampire didn't bite you did they?"

"No, but if they did, I felt nothing-" Ichiru's eyes widened suddenly, and Zero yelped when he was flipped over.

"What was that for?" Zero huffed; blinking in confusion when he noticed Ichiru had taken a protective stance in front of him. He sat up a bit more so he was able to peek over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at the person, or rather, vampire- standing four steps away from them.

"So we meet again." The vampire tilted his head to the right.

"Are you following us?" Ichiru asked suspiciously.

"No," the vampire said, his face extremely apathetic and dull. "I have saved you twice and yet you still do not trust me. Human hunter children are very stubborn aren't they?"

The only response he received were two glares resembling one a kitten might make if it were dunked into bathwater.

"Well," the vampire knelt down to meet their eye level, though he made no move to go closer to them, "At least trust me when I give you this little bit of information; I _would _be devastated if you two didn't live to a good age."

Zero and Ichiru glared in distrust, but they didn't say anything that would stop the vampire from telling them.

"There's a house not too far from here," the vampire looked at them in the eyes, "A _human _house. There is a man that lives there and he would be more than happy to take care of you two. Just keep going straight that way," the vampire pointed, "and there will be a walkway- go left from there."

Zero and Ichiru turned their heads in the direction the vampire pointed. "We still don't…trust…you..."

The twins turned back towards the man before they blinked and looked at each other- the vampire was gone.

**xox**

**Mad Hatter**

They had walked a fair distance, and just as the pureblood had informed them, there was a pathway. It was covered with piles of snow in some parts, though clearly someone had been sweeping the snow to the sides. The twins looked at each other before turning left, just as the vampire instructed. They dragged their legs, forcing them to walk on just a bit further; they were both tired and hungry by now, but they had to keep moving. So far, the vampire seemed to have been telling the truth.

"I don't think I can walk another step…" Ichiru complained and fell backwards onto the cobblestone pathway, landing on his bottom.

Zero sat down too, running his fingers across the rocks on the path, "Do you think he lied?" The silverette asked, feeling unusually disappointed at the thought of the pureblood lying to them. He shouldn't have, in fact, he should have expected it, and he did, but he still felt strangely sad.

"Well," Ichiru rubbed his nose boyishly and shrugged, "He could have, but there's a path here, and it's gotta lead to something right?"

Zero smiled and nodded, "Yeah…"

After their short break, they continued on. Ichiru's eyes had gotten bored of the scenery around them and slowly ventured upwards until they reached the sky. He grinned when he saw familiar shapes in the cumulous clouds. He reached over and poked his brother in the shoulder before pointing enthusiastically at the sky, "Look Zero, it's a rabbit!"

Zero squinted his eyes as he stared long and hard at the cloud that he assumed was the one his brother was pointing at, "No…it looks like a teapot."

"Not!" Ichiru huffed, "It's a rabbit!"

"Oh," Zero blinked as he looked again, "_Now _it looks like a rabbit."

"See?"

"But it didn't before!" Zero told him and they continued to debate on what clouds looked like what. They got into small arguments, though remembering where they were; they kept their voices at a soft volume and never raised it any further. Just as Zero was trying to convince Ichiru that the cloud he was looking at looked very much like a character from a fairy tale, he had spotted a strange object in the distance. He stopped abruptly in his sentence and movement, making Ichiru accidentally run into him.

"Ow," Ichiru exclaimed as he held his nose; "Why'd you stop Zero?"

"What's that?" Zero asked, lifting an arm to point at a silhouette in the distance.

Ichiru narrowed his eyes, squinting at the silhouette, trying to make out what it was. "I dunno, let's go closer."

"Are you sure?" Zero asked clutching onto his brother's sleeve nervously.

"Very sure!" Ichiru replied and beamed at his brother. Zero giggled, feeling much more comfortable at approaching the object after hearing his sibling's confident reply.

They walked quickly but cautiously, careful to not make much noise just in case it was something that could cause them harm. Ichiru had adamantly taken the front position, pushing Zero behind him just in case. Zero blinked as they got closer, details of the silhouette slowly becoming visible. He could see the straight lines and angles, bricks, the reflection of windows, and the tiles of a roof.

"It's a house!"

They looked at each other, staring into each other's eyes as if they were having a silent conversation, and nodded. They started to run towards the house, the cold winter air brushing past their cheeks. They slowed to a stop as they neared the front door, breathing heavily, noses a bright pink. Zero gulped as Ichiru shifted, both looking up at the large door nervously.

"Do you think he'll be nice?" Zero asked.

Ichiru puffed out his chest, "Nothing is worse than a vampire!"

Zero sweatdropped and let out a short laugh before climbing onto a small stool that was on the side, tippy toeing so that he could reach the doorbell. The bell made a loud dragged out buzzing sound, making the twins wince at the horrid noise. They blinked when a few crashing noises were heard from within the house. Zero looked down at his brother who shrugged, and when they heard a clicking sound, turned their attention completely to the door.

As the door opened, it revealed a man with straw colored hair tied back into a ponytail. The man was wearing glasses and a large smile, along with a frilly pink apron and weird lion slippers.

"Oh! How cute! Identical twins!" The man squealed, and before Zero and Ichiru could run away, the man pulled the both of them into his arms, hugging them tightly. Zero and Ichiru grunted indignantly, trying to push away the man smothering them with hugs and smooches. This man was really strange, showing this kind of affection even though they just met.

"Let us go you pedophile!" Ichiru screeched before the two siblings were able to kick themselves out of the hold of the strange man's hold. "Mou, Zero, this guy is weird, let's not stay here."

"Well, feel free to sleep out in the freezing cold snow again," The man said cheerfully, not allowing Zero to reply, "However, I think it would be best if you stayed in here where it's warm and there's food."

"Then, we'll die," Zero said softly, surprising both his brother and the man, "I don't care, it's better than staying with you, and we'll be able to see our parents again."

The beige-haired man smiled wryly, "_You _may not mind it little one, but what about your brother here? It's selfish to decide such a thing on your own."

Zero bit his lips at this, and turned his gaze towards his brother.

"Furthermore, your parents probably did everything they could to make sure you two live long lives." The man's smile turned gentle and he opened the door to his house wider, "Don't you think you'll make them sad by dying so soon?"

Ichiru glared and stood in front of Zero protectively, "Don't bully Zero into making a decision!"

The adult let out a small laugh, "I'm not bullying; I'm just saying the truth."

"Why you-"

"Ichiru," Zero interrupted quietly, "Let's go inside."

"Eh?" His twin blinked twice, "Are you sure?"

"Nn," Zero nodded surely, "You don't want to?"

"No, whatever you want I want." Ichiru confessed before pulling Zero into the warmly lit house, shrugging off their coats, scarves, and boots after the man shut the door.

"My name is Kaien," the man introduced himself, "Boots go over there and you can hang your coats and scarves there."

"Kay."

Kaien pointed to both of them, remembering that they had called each other by name when they were talking to each other outside, "So, you're Zero and you're Ichiru right?"

Ichiru puffed his cheeks, "Wrong! _I'm_ Ichiru and _he's _Zero."

"Aiyayayayaya," Kaien grinned sheepishly, "It's going to take a while, you look the same."

They looked at him with identical dull expressions before shaking their heads, "We _don't_."

"Well to me you do!" Kaien exclaimed before ushering them out of the hallway and into the living room. Everything was warm in color and in feel. It was very homey; the fireplace was very welcoming, as well as the slight clutter. Normally, clutter would be a turn off, but a little clutter like this was fine, because then the house wouldn't seem as stiff.

The twins carefully stepped over the paper that cluttered a small portion of the floor, hopping onto the soft, plump-looking couch that was placed in front of the fireplace. The couch's cushions were swallowing them, and even with their lightweight they sunk right in.

"Oh!" Kaien exclaimed suddenly, making the twins jump in surprise, "Where are my manners, would you two like something to eat?"

They both nodded excitedly in unison, the thought of food entering their stomachs sounding very pleasant. Their stomachs growled simultaneously a short while afterwards, making the brothers flush slightly in embarrassment.

"Great!" The male smiled cheerfully, "Thankfully, I have leftovers from dinner!"

Zero and Ichiru watched curiously and anxiously from their seat as Kaien entered the slightly messy kitchen. They heard a couple of clangs from the pots and the refrigerator door opening and closing before the male reemerged, carrying a rather large bowl with foil over it.

"What is it?"

"Curry!"

Zero smiled at the answer, and the siblings both licked their lips as Kaien slowly peeled the foil away. What they saw greatly disappointed them. Zero and Ichiru's faces paled at the color of the food, though the smell was okay. It looked almost like what one would find in a witch's cauldron, or something along those lines.

"It looks disgusting," Zero and Ichiru bluntly told him, making the adult burst into dramatic crocodile tears.

Before the man could cry any more, and before the pot could fall to the floor, Zero stepped forward slightly, ignoring the small flame of disappointment that throbbed in his head, "Um, why don't I make the meals from now on?"

Ichiru's eyes brightened at the suggestion and turned to the man whose tears were slowly diminishing, "Yes, yes! Zero makes fantastic meals!" He would rather die than eat anything that this man made.

"But…"

Zero bit his lip, wondering what would convince the male to let him cook. Finally, he thought of an excuse and shook his head, "No, please let me make the meals to thank you for letting us in."

Kaien couldn't resist those two pairs of pleading, large lilac eyes.

**xox**

**The Frog Prince**

Kaname peeked into the window of the house, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that the twins were inside safely. They seemed to be healthy and cheerful; one was cooking while the other seemed to be doodling on a piece of paper on Kaien's desk. He chuckled in amusement, wondering if that paper was an important document.

"Kaname-sama, you came!"

Kaname turned at the sound of a cheerful voice, and tilted his head in greeting, "Good Morning."

Kaien chuckled wryly lifting his chin slightly towards the sky, "Even though it looks like it still looks like night time."

It was still dark and you could still see the stars despite it being almost eight in the morning. Kaname exhaled, his breath turning into condensation that was tinted a slight orange due to the lighting coming from within the house.

"Did you come to check on the children?"

Kaname nodded, "They look okay."

Kaien grinned cheerfully, "Yep! All their limbs were in tact when they came up to my door." He blinked when the pureblood started walking away, "Hey, aren't you going to say 'hi' at least?"

"They dislike me."

"Then _make _them like you." Kaien smiled mysteriously, "You're the same species, I'm sure you'll be able to work something out."

The brunette narrowed his eyes. Yes, the children were purebloods, but they didn't know it. They had lived as hunters thinking that they were human all this time; no one had told them that they were in actuality- blood sucking monsters.

"Will you tell them?" The beige-haired male asked.

Kaname shook his head, "There's no need." He had no intentions of sending them further into despair; their parents had just died, telling them that they were purebloods, just like him and the pureblood that had massacred their family, would be devastating.

"They'll have to know someday."

"There's no need." Kaname repeated.

**xox**

It had already been a few days since Kaien had taken them in. Zero hummed as he stirred the soup in the pot, bobbing his head from side to side. He was cooking a dish that his mother absolutely loved to cook in the winter. It was his and Ichiru's favorite, and he was sure that Kaien would love it too. Zero paused in his stirring, melancholy swimming in his eyes. He wondered if it was really all right to remain alive while their parents and other relatives were dead. He felt like he was cheating somehow. The silverette bit his lip; he felt like he was betraying them by remaining alive. At night, he would often dream that everyone who had been murdered by that pureblood were shouting at him, persecuting him for cheating death while they all had to endure it.

It was painful.

He wanted it to stop.

"Zero!"

Zero gasped whipping his head towards the side, "Ichiru, you scared me!" He pouted, putting his hand over his chest to calm his beating heart.

"Sorry," Ichiru scratched his head sheepishly, before he frantically pointed to the pot, "But the pot is boiling over!"

"Eh?" Zero glanced at the pot before gasping, making noises of panic as he hurried to turn off the stove.

Ichiru watched in amusement as his brother fumbled with the knobs on the stove and snickered, "You don't normally get distracted while you're cooking, Zero," he teased.

"Be quiet Ichiru," the silverette chef huffed before peeking into the pot. Thank goodness, it still looked all right. He put the cover over the pot, hopping off of the stool that Kaien had provided for him, "We'll have to wait a bit so it can cool off."

His sibling nodded in agreement, taking Zero's small hand in his own before walking towards the living room, "I can't wait to eat your cooking!"

"You _always_say that Ichiru."

"Only cause it's true!"

Zero flushed shyly and smiled, "Thanks."

"How long will we have to wait?" Ichiru asked, a small pink tongue darting out to lick his lips in anticipation.

"Maybe ten minutes."

"That's so long!"

As they made their way to sit down on the couches, Zero's chest started to swell with anxiety and insecurity. Zero's lips started to tremble and he started to breath heavily. He hated this. He had lived with it throughout his whole life, but feeling things that he shouldn't have was something that he could never get used to. It was scary.

"Zero?"

After the silverette looked up to look at his brother, their eyes widened simultaneously at the aura that they felt walking into the room. It was a pureblood. This aura felt familiar though; they had surely felt it before in the forest. Ichiru quickly ran in front of Zero when they heard the footsteps heading towards them, and took a defensive stance, glaring harshly. Zero winced when the pureblood got closer. The anxiety, insecurity, and nervousness started growing larger in his chest, as well as his stomach. He held his head, groaning as feelings of excitement hit him. He felt sick; he wanted to throw up. He clutched onto the back of Ichiru's shirt, breathing heavily.

"What are _you _doing here?" Ichiru hissed.

Zero looked up with blurry vision, blinking heavily so that his vision would focus. Brown hair- was it the man they had encountered in the forest? As his vision cleared, he could make out a handsome young, pale face and beautiful brown eyes. The man was considerably taller than they were, maybe two or three feet taller.

"An empath." The man murmured. It was indeed the voice of the man that had saved them –twice.

What? Zero thought when he heard the words from the man's lips. But before he could ask, Kaien came hopping in, exclaiming cheerfully that this man, who was apparently called Kaname, would be staying over for the night because of the snow.

"What?" Ichiru complained. "But he's a _pureblood_."

Kaien smiled and patted Kaname on the back harder than what was necessary, "A very trustworthy pureblood!"

The look that Ichiru sported was suspicious, "How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not!" Kaien joked and laughed at Ichiru's face before turning to Zero, "Is dinner ready?"

"Ah, yes," Zero mumbled before scurrying off towards the kitchen, sending wary glances at the pureblood. They can't be trusted, but why did he feel like he should? He was confused.

The silverette carefully climbed onto the stool, reaching for the pot. The table had already been set, so he didn't have to worry about tableware. He groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose, still feeling the dizziness that he had before. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his lower back, and he gasped, quickly turning around.

"Whoa," it was the pureblood. "Don't turn so fast."

"What are you doing here?" Zero glared, keeping on guard.

Kaname tilted his head, "I was concerned because you seemed to look a bit pale," he reached out for the pot, "Let me carry it."

Zero bit his lips, "I can do it myself!"

"Don't be so stubborn," Kaname sighed, "Do you _want _the food to go all over the floor?"

"I'm fine!" Zero insisted, moving to grab the pot, only to groan in slight pain.

"Really now?"

The child growled before he conceded. He didn't want to waste the food and he didn't want to give Kaien trouble. "Fine," he hissed out reluctantly.

"Trust me a little," Kaname whispered to him as he carefully lifted the pot off of the stove, carrying it over to the dining table. Zero didn't reply, just following behind him silently.

**xox**

**The Entertainer**

Zero walked through the halls of the house. He adamantly said that he was just walking around aimlessly, but it was obvious that he was exploring with his childish curiosity. He pulled out drawers, looked behind closets, crawled underneath tables, watched the fish swimming in their tank, and examined the carvings on the furniture. He explored whole rooms too, leaving no place unchecked, which meant that he also crawled underneath the beds. Ichiru wasn't exploring with him; he was doodling somewhere, probably on the walls.

Zero's ears perked up when he heard the sound of a piano playing. It was beautiful and he wondered who could have been playing it. Was it Kaien? Zero hurried out of the room, using his ears to find the source of the sound. After a while, he scrunched up his nose in frustration. He had been walking around in circles, but he still could not find the piano. He leaned against a door tiredly, deciding to rest a bit before exploring the rest of the house. Zero gasped when the door started opening, letting out a surprised yelp as he started to fall backwards.

"Ow!" Zero winced when his back met the floor, closing his eyes tightly to try and chase away the slight pain.

"Are you okay?"

Lilac eyes snapped wide open, and he rolled over so fast that he forgot that the door was still there and- "OW!" Zero yelped again when his soft forehead met solid, pure wood. He held his head gritting his teeth, mumbling sounds of pain as he tried to pull himself up.

"Here, let me see that."

Zero's eyes snapped open again, and quickly, as if his skin had just touched fire, he backed away. "Don't touch me!"

Kaname sighed and held his hands out, "Trust me."

"No." Zero glared, hiding the pain that was developing inside of his chest. He always got it when he was around Kaname, it was strange. Was the pureblood doing something to make him feel sad and pained?

Zero tilted his head when Kaname let out another sigh and got up to walk back into the room. He blinked when he realized that the pureblood was heading towards a piano, "_You _were the one playing?"

Kaname nodded so subtly that Zero thought he was imagining it. But his question was answered when long fingers began dancing across the keyboard, playing the tune he had heard previously. Hesitantly, Zero approached the pureblood, watching as Kaname's fingers skillfully press on the keys.

"Do you know how to play?" The pureblood asked.

Zero's heart leapt for a moment and he paused before answering, "Just a little."

Kaname nodded silently before playing a few notes of "The Entertainer" before he looked at Zero. The silverette blinked, confused, before he suddenly realized that the pureblood wanted him to play with him. Zero shifted on his feet and sighed as he stepped a little closer to the piano, playing the next few notes. They continued like this until the end of the song. It was surprisingly relaxing to the young child, and he began to enjoy it, playing with more passion as they continued to play. The last note seemed to hang in the air as they finished, and after a few moments of silence, Zero exhaled.

Kaname looked at him in curiosity, wondering what he was going to say.

"I suppose...I could give you a chance." Zero muttered softly, cheeks tinged red.

Kaname smiled, replying by playing a few joyous notes on the piano.

**xox**

**Written by Cookie **

**I'm not overly satisfied with the ending, but I couldn't think of any other way to end it. I'm really not as creative as Wookie is, but I hope you'll continue to support me and review! I'm happy to write again really. **


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